Steve Spurrier offers unsolicited ripping of QB Stephen Garcia

No one baited South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier into questioning his quarterback’s talent and his dedication to the team, but no one needed to.
In his opening statement at the SEC spring meeting in Destin, Spurrier said some of his players have had a poor off-season and it took only a few minutes before he brought up quarterback Stephen Garcia.

(Photo by C. Aluka Berry/The State)

“Hopefully Stephen Garcia can come around and make a stronger commitment to play,” Spurrier said. “If he’s going to be your quarterback, then everybody’s got to believe in him. We’re hoping Stephen will show just a little bit stronger commitment level and get himself better prepared to play each week and play better.”

Later in Spurrier’s press conference, after noting that Garcia showed little improvement in football during spring practices, Spurrier was asked if Garcia has re-committed himself to the program.

Literally hours later, Spurrier was asked about potential SEC expansion and started his answer by saying he’s got so many problems with his quarterback that he doesn’t have time to think about the conference adding teams.

Garcia, a junior, has played 15 games in two seasons at South Carolina. Last fall, he completed 55.3 percent of his passes for 2,862 yards, 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Garcia on the first day of practice last fall. (C. Aluka Berry/The State)

He had two arrests early in his Gamecocks career and a third incident occurred when campus police cited him for underage drinking.

Spurrier’s concern, though, seems to be that Garcia has shown little progress on the field.

“Spring practice was, I wouldn’t say, a lot different than most of his spring practices,” Spurrier said. “We’ll just have to wait and see. It may be a point that he’s playing the best he can. We may be expecting too much out of him. I think about that, but if that’s the case, then we have to get the next guy ready to play because the way he’s performed thus far, we’re going to be limited.

“He’s got to make better decisions, take care of the ball, avoid sacks — all that kind of stuff. Throw a little bit better and things of that nature. But we believe he can and he’s going to get the opportunity to.”

Spurrier acknowledged Garcia might have been hindered by the fact that he was not allowed to grow gradually into the job like Florida’s John Brantley did. He would have benefited from sitting out more often, but the Gamecocks did not have any serviceable back-ups, Spurrier said.

That could change this fall. When Spurrier finished needling Garcia, he started praising true freshman Connor Shaw.

“He’ll be there all summer doing what we ask him to do,” Spurrier said of Shaw. “You don’t have to worry about his commitment level. It’s strong.

“He’s a good passer. He can run a bit. I think they clocked him at about a 4.55 in the 40. He’s a fast kid from Flowery Branch, Ga. He’s definitely the back-up right now, ready to compete for the starting assignment in the pre-season.”